Vanilla Custard Tart with Blueberries and Cream is a fresh and light summer dessert featuring creamy vanilla bean custard topped with a smattering of fresh blueberries and a touch of whipped cream.
So, I got stuck in a rut. Between homeschooling my four hooligans, the continuous need to create new recipes for the blog, coaching soccer, and trying to keep a household of six organized, on track, and in clean underwear, I feel as if the Me part of myself was lost. And exhausted. And maybe a tad bit overwhelmed.
I began this blog as a creative outlet in which to exercise my writing muscles. The crazy story that goes along with quitting a high stress, high paying job, in order to embark on the high stress, non-paying career of raising a family that grew to include four sons begged to be told. I began writing in order to share our favorite recipes, the stories behind and feelings invoked by a particular food, and all the useful tips and tricks that I’ve learned along the way in my quest to feel comfortable with domestic life. Recipe development became my “me time.” Writing became my saving grace because it allowed me to speak freely during a season in life where I rarely spoke to anyone above elementary school age for days at a time. I wrote to maintain my identity and (hopefully) a slice of sanity.
I assumed that only Bacon Slayer and my parents would read what I had written here, and for a few months, that was true. A funny thing happened a short time later–more and more of you began to read my ramblings and try the recipes. You’ve cheered me on when I started running and lost the 30 pounds packed on by babies and overindulgence. You’ve laughed along with me at my recipe failures. When the Sons find yet another gross laundry challenge for me to get out of their clothes, you’re there to hear about how I got those stinkin’ stains out…again. Lawdy only knows that you put up with my abysmal attempts at photography in the early days. I’m talking to you, 2010.
Most importantly, my readers became my friends and for that, I am exceptionally grateful.
Then another funny thing happened–my little corner of the internet morphed from what was essentially a hobby journal into a real business. Comfortably Domestic has blessed me and my family in more ways than I can count. You guys liked my food so much that brands wanted to know what all of the fuss was about. Not only do I develop recipes featuring products/ingredients that I am genuinely passionate about, sometimes I even get paid for it. Since we’ve been friends forever for six years now, I feel a responsibility to fiercely protect this gathering space. I only share brands and other cool stuff for things that I truly love. I’m authentic like that.
As focus shifted toward food blogging, I lost a part of myself by not writing about the daily-ness of life. I just couldn’t muster the motivation to do more than what I was already doing.
You noticed.
You liked more.
Some of you even gave me a much deserved talking to on the matter.
Thank you.
I’ve been praying for direction for the blog for quite some time, which led to taking most of the summer off from writing to just be. To Be Present. To be Engaged. I figured a break from my virtual-life to be more involved in my actual-life would give me more to write about. Life feeds my writing. I won’t have much to write about if I no longer have a life outside of blogging. Writing about forever being tethered to my laptop just doesn’t have the same flair.
Y’all know that I’m all about food, but I feel led to write about more. I still plan to create exciting new recipes each week. I’ll make a real effort to get back into a regular writing routine for food posts. I’ll also be striving to sprinkle the more back into the mix. For instance, I’ve spent a huge part of the summer tackling DIY Projects a Plenty, hosting friends and family as if I were running a bed & breakfast, and managed to squeeze in the first a real family vacation since Son #4 hit the scene. Don’t worry! I’ve still been developing plenty of new recipes like this Vanilla Custard Tart. From this point on, I plan to write about All the Things.
Let’s start with this Vanilla Custard Tart with Blueberries and Cream. The Sons and I have been blueberry picking with our friends and relations twice this summer. Since we moved to the country last fall, we’ve been searching for a blueberry farm on this side of town. Imagine my excitement to find one about 5 miles down the road! The first foray into the fields yielded 40 pounds of berries. I made a couple of Son #4’s perfect blueberry pies. My boys ate enough to remind themselves of what biologically happens when they eat 5 lbs of blueberries. The rest of the berries were put up in the freezer for blueberry banana smoothies.
The following blueberry picking adventure yielded half the volume. Since I’ve been dreaming of my girl Christina’s maple blueberry preserves for years, I needed most of our haul. My only option was to threaten my boys with great bodily harm if they got anywhere near those blueberry buckets.
After the second batch, I had only a smattering of freshly picked blueberries. I considered eating them before my boys became wise, however I soon ditched the idea in favor of something more.
Y’all know that I’d figure out a way to stretch that smattering of blueberries into a pie, right?
Vanilla Custard Tart with Blueberries and Cream is a fresh and light summer pie featuring a creamy vanilla bean custard as the perfect resting place for fresh blueberries and a touch of whipped cream. I highly recommend hoarding saving a few fresh blueberries for just such an occasion.
Calories
Fat
Carbs
Protein
Kirsten Kubert
Yields 8 to 10 Servings
Vanilla Custard Tart with Blueberries and Cream is a fresh and light summer dessert featuring creamy vanilla bean custard topped with a smattering of fresh blueberries and a touch of whipped cream.
4 hr, 30 Prep Time
30 minCook Time
5 hrTotal Time
Save RecipeIngredients
- For the Tart:
- 1 (9-inch) disk of all-butter pie dough
- For the Filling:
- 1/3 C. granulated sugar
- 2 Tbs. cornstarch
- 1/8 tsp. salt
- 2 ¼ C. 2% milk
- 3 large egg yolks
- 1 tsp. vanilla bean caviar (scraped from the inside of one vanilla bean or substitute 1 ½ tsp. good quality vanilla extract)
- 3 Tbs. chilled unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
- 1 pint of fresh blueberries
- ½ C. sweetened whipped cream (or more, to taste)
- Also Required:
- 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom (or 9-inch pie plate)
- Parchment paper
- 2 cups of pie weights or dried (uncooked) beans
- Aluminum foil
Instructions
- Line a tart pan with removable bottom with parchment paper that has been custom cut to fit the bottom of the pan. (If using a pie plate, omit the parchment paper.)
- Roll the pie dough to fill the tart pan with a slight overhang of dough. Gently lift the edges of the dough while also nestling it to fill the bottom and sides of the tart pan without underlying air pockets. Crimp the outer edge of the dough, as desired. Freeze the pastry lined tart pan for 20 minutes or overnight.
- While the tart pastry is in the freezer, prepare the filling by whisking together the sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a large, heavy bottomed saucepan. Separately, beat the egg yolks into the milk until blended. Slowly drizzle the milk mixture into the saucepan while also whisking to combine with the dry ingredients until no until smooth. Cook the filling over medium heat,stirring slowly and continuously with a wooden spoon until custard begins to bubble and thicken; about 5 minutes. Continue to cook the custard while frequently scraping the sides and bottom of the pan to prevent it from scorching. The custard is done when thick enough to drizzle ribbons that stand on the surface for 4 to 5 seconds before melting back into the mixture; about 5 more minutes. Remove the custard from the heat. Whisk the chilled butter into the custard, one cube at a time, until the butter is fully incorporated. Stir the vanilla bean caviar into the custard to distribute throughout. Transfer the custard to a glass bowl. Place a sheet of plastic wrap directly on to the surface of the custard. Refrigerate for 1 hour to cool.
- While the custard is cooling, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
- Line the frozen tart part with a double thickness of aluminum foil with a 1-inch overhang. Scatter the dried beans or pie weights over the foil. Bake the tart shell for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the pie weights by gripping the foil overhang and lifting upward. Carefully dock the crust several times with a fork. Return the tart pan to the oven and continue baking the pastry shell for an additional 5 minutes or until just barely beginning to brown.
- Remove the tart shell from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool.
- Once the tart shell has cooled, remove the plastic wrap from the surface of the custard. Stir the custard until smooth. Spoon the creamy custard into the cooled tart shell, leveling it with the back of the spoon. Cover the surface of the custard filling with plastic wrap, leaving the crust exposed. Chill tart for 2 hours. Once the filling has set, arrange fresh blueberries on top of the custard.
- Serve slices of the tart with a dollop of whipped cream.
- Vanilla Custard Tart with Blueberries and Cream is best enjoyed the day it is made, however leftover tart may be lightly covered in aluminum foil and refrigerated for one day.
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